You Too
by Daydreamer747
Summary: This is really a coping piece, if you will. Doesn't make much sense. A little corny, but I'd love to see what you think.


**AN: Alright, what follows is an angsty oneshot. I realize a few things about it don't make much sense, but in reality this is really for me to cope with my eminent (spelling/word choice?) graduation. I just want to know what your guys think. As I said before, I realize that not much of this makes sense and it's not connected to any of my stories, so any reviews complaining of that will be ignored. No, I will not explain it since it's actually kind of personal. But, like I said, let me know what you think. It's probably gonna go down after a few days anyways. I hope you enjoy.**

You Too

She fell. Or rather, she chose to fall. She was shaken, not by tragedy but by something equally as traumatic in it's own right. The girl sat and held her knees to her chest in a tight embrace. While her emotional state had not changed in the slightest, she did feel a certain sense of security. The girl stared into the rippled reflection of the moon in the river below and sighed, soaking in the silence of her surroundings. It was this place, she decided. Yes, it was in this place, the world she had been pulled into so abruptly, that she allowed her legs to slackened and let the soft, wet grass rise to catch her. And it was there that she waited.

Her mind wandered as the breeze caressed her brown curls. No longer was she a girl of fourteen as she had been when the madness started. It had been four years (four years already?) since serendipity grabbed her by the hand and led her into her new life. Four years of adventures, of fantastical happenings, of memories. So many things had happened in that time. Bonds were both strengthened and tested, enemies became friends, friends became strangers. She grew stronger and, in some ways, weaker, and yet somethings never did change. Despite everything, her life had continued in a steady rhythm of night and day, school and her magic world. It had taken some time, but she had finally achieved the balance she had strived for for so long. Some parts she remembered better than others. Some she preferred more than others, but all the same, she was happy. Until, that is, realization that her world would soon become unbalanced came at her from nowhere, as if someone, somewhere had opened a floodgate.

It had happened that night while she was lounging by the castle with Ariel, Lilo, and Quasimodo. So swiftly was she seized by emotion that her friends were silenced. Their laughter died in their throats as they looked over at the suddenly ashen girl. She had left them behind, confused, worried, and calling out to her as she took to the skies.

The soft padding of footsteps were what woke her from her current spell. Her stoic look softened just a bit as she heard someone come near. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was, just as the one who approached didn't need to be told she was there. He knew when she was hurting. He always knew, and he always came. The great creature watched the troubled girl as he lay beside her. She was motionless. So much so that he would have thought she was a statue if he had not known better.

For a moment, they were still. Neither one spoke, afraid to break the silence too soon. They only sat and watched, taking solace in each other's company. After four years, they knew how this worked. It was the same each time they met in their clearing by the water. There was an agreement between the two, a code of conduct that was not spoken, but felt.

At last the stillness ended when the girl turned and looked at her companion. The Lion, giant and golden, was another thing that remained the same. He was always bigger than she was, no matter how much she grew (not that she had grown much, mind you), and, most importantly, he was her comfort.

Aslan looked back at her with familiar understanding in his eyes, though she caught no more than a glimpse before she finally broke down. With a choked sob, she slumped over and wept into his mane. Clumps of fur tickled her nose, but she took no notice. She wept, long and hard, and clung to whom she considered a second father. The lion smiled a bittersweet smile at the girl and held her close with a mighty paw. The reassurance only caused the girl to sob harder and her grip around his neck tightened. His ear twitched as he felt her hand bury itself deeper under his fur.

When the girl's cries died down to whimpers, Aslan spoke.

"It's alright, dear one," he soothed, "You're alright. Now, tell me what this is about."

The girl sniffled and answered, " Everything. In just a few days, I'm gonna lose everyone I know. Everyone's leaving! And once graduation rolls around..." she stopped and took a second to collect herself, "I don't know. I mean, we all knew this was gonna happen, but I guess it didn't really mean anything until now." She sat back on her knees and looked down at they grass.

Aslan nodded, "Yes, it is hard to lose the people you love, but each of you must follow your own paths."

"But we don't want to leave each other!" the girl cried, still looking down at the grass, "Can't we make it so that we can all face the future but keep things the same?"

The bittersweet smile returned to the lion's face, "Life does not work that way. For us to grow, we must change."

"What if the change is painful? Or what if it's not for the better? What then? I'm happy with the way things are. Isn't that good enough?"

"Is it?" Aslan asked, "I have no doubt you are happy, but what of your dreams? And your friends? I'm sure they have aspirations of their own."

"Yeah," the girl mumbled, "But do we really have to leave each other?"

Aslan sighed, "Sometimes in life, you show loved ones you care by spending time with them. Other times, the greatest display of any love is letting those you care for go. It's the only way any of you can accomplish anything. And who's to say your destinies won't be intertwined in the end?" The girl didn't respond for a minute. When she did, she lifted her head to face the lion.

"I guess you're right," she said with a sad smile, then met his eye. The smile vanished, "Can you promise me something?"

"What?" He asked.

"Promise me," she said, "that_ you_ won't go anywhere. If I'm gonna lose touch with a bunch of my school friends, I can't afford to lose you too." A chuckle rumbled from deep within the lion and the small smile returned to the girl's face.

He placed a paw on her shoulders as he said, "I promise."


End file.
